Large scale particle simulations in a virtual memory computer

✍ Scribed by P.C. Gray; J.S. Wagner; T. Tajima; R. Million

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 957 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0010-4655
• DOI: 10.1016/0010-4655(83)90053-x

✦ Synopsis

Virtual memory computers are capable of executing large-scale particle simulations even when the memory requirements exceed the computer core size. The required address space is automatically mapped onto slow disc memory by the operating system. When the simulation size is very large, frequent random accesses to slow memory occur during the charge accumulation and particle pushing processes. Accesses to slow memory significantly reduce the execution rate of the simulation. We demonstrate in this paper that with the proper choice of sorting algorithm, a nominal amount of sorting to keep physically adjacent particles near particles with neighboring array indices can reduce random access to slow memory, increase the efficiency of the I/O system, and hence, reduce the required computing time.